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"So, how have you really been?" Atticus asks, noticing Accalia's slightly disheveled appearance. Her hair is less brushed than it normally is, her skin is a little paler and there are dark circles under her eyes, indicating that she hasn't been getting a lot of sleep. "Forgive me, my lady, but you do not look your best."

"Perhaps this is my true self," Accalia says somewhat bitterly. "I will be fine eventually, I am merely...sad," she admits. Atticus hesitates slightly before continuing to eat the chicken pie that's in front of him.

"Is there any thing I can do to help you?" he asks with a frown. "I've been told that I can be a very good listener," he adds, silently hoping that she'll confide in him.

"I do not wish to talk about it," Accalia sighs. It's been two days since she was told that Miles doesn't have much longer to live, and he's been getting progressively worse. His body is rejecting food and he's gotten even thinner, if that was possible. It's killing her to see him this way.

"Alright," Atticus says, trying not to show his disappointment. The two continue to talk, but there's an air of uneasiness between the two. The mood from when they first met has definitely changed, and while Attitcus has no idea what happened, Accalia knows. She feels bad that she's unable to treat him like before or even be happy with him, but she can't help it. Miles has been taking up all of her free time, and when she's shooed away by the doctors, she's just stayed in her room—that is, until Harry comes around and makes her go swimming with him.

"Atticus, I'm sorry," Accalia says after he walks her to her room. "I've been very rude to you, while you've been nothing but kind."

"It's quite alright, love," he says softly. "You're going through something hard, and I wish I could be the person you could confide in, but I don't blame you."

"Maybe we can try again some time," Accalia sighs. "When I don't have as much on my mind." Atticus agrees and tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear before leaning down and pressing his lips to her forehead. She closes her eyes for a moment, trying to enjoy the feeling of his lips on her skin, but she can't.

"I'll see you around, Lady Starling," he says before walking away. Once he's turned the corner of the hallway, Accalia lets out a sigh and goes into her bedroom. Inside, she sees that Judith is straightening her belongings, but she's not alone. Her eyes narrow slightly when she sees the female figure standing beside her maid.

"Good afternoon, Jude," Accalia says, when it becomes clear that neither of the figures have noticed her entrance. Almost immediately, the two of them stop what they're doing and turn to look at her.

"Accalia," Judith says, bowing her head. "Forgive me for not noticing you earlier."

"It's alright," she replies, her eyes still fixed on the girl beside Judith. "Who is this?"

"Oh, that's right!" Judith says, placing her hand on her forehead. "This is Thiora, the granddaughter of one of my closest friends," she continues.

"Hm," Accalia says quietly, narrowing her eyes again as the girl immediately curtsies. "And what is her purpose here?" Judith can sense the hostility coming from her lady, and she tries to remain neutral, knowing that she's only behaving this way because of Miles.

"Well, as you know, I am growing rather old. I was hoping that I could help train Thiora and then she'd take over my duties," Judith finally says. She sees emotion flash across Accalia's eyes. "I won't be going anywhere any time soon, I just want someone to be ready to take over when the time comes."

"Okay," Accalia sighs. "Forgive me, Thiora. I am not in my best state of mind at the moment."

"It's alright, m'lady," Thiora says, bowing her head. Accalia immediately corrects her, and explains that she'd rather be called by her given name, not her title. For the next few minutes, the three of them talk. Accalia finds herself struggling to remain focused because all she wants is to be with Miles.

When she can no longer take it, she excused herself and goes over to the hospital wing. She already feels tears beginning to form in her eyes when she sees Miles laying in his bed. He's significantly thinner now, and he barely has the energy to open his eyes. He tries to smile, but he's unable to.

"Oh my sweet baby," Accalia murmurs as her eyes begin to water. What hurts the most is the fact that she's unable to hold him in the way she wants. The doctors say that it will infect her if she does this, but her resolve of not touching him is slowly breaking. She doesn't care about possibly getting sick with consumption. She just wants to hold her son, even if he doesn't really know the truth about who his parents are.

"Lia..." Miles says weakly.

"I'm here my love. I'm here," she says quietly. She can feel her hands beginning to shake as she takes in her son's weak figure and she takes a deep breath. "You are such a strong boy. I'm so sorry that this is happening to you." Miles wants to say something to his aunt, but he can't. He barely understands what's going on, but from what he can't, he knows that Accalia is very worried about him.

"Miss Starling." Harry had gone to find Accalia, wanting to take her mind off things as well as possibly go swimming with her again. He had gone to her room to see if she was there, but she obviously wasn't. He heard the voices of two women and decided not to go inside because he didn't want to get caught. He knew that Accalia would most likely be visiting her son, which is why he's now in the hospital wing.

"Harlequin," she murmurs as she immediately walks over to Harry. She wraps her arms around his torso and rests her head on his chest. "Let me say goodbye to Miles first."

"Take your time, Accalia," he says softly, his pity growing as he watches her turn away and kneel close to the dying boy.

"Miles love, I'm going to go for a few hours, but I promise I will be back," she says. "I love you so much. You are so strong and I'm so proud of you. I will be back." Accalia nearly leans over to kiss his forehead, but she manages to stop herself.

"We don't have to go anywhere today," Harry says quietly, suddenly rethinking his plans for today. "You can just stay with Miles."

"As much as I'd love to be with him, I can't. I need to make sure that I take care of myself," Accalia sighs. "For some reason, spending time with you makes me sane again." Harry feels a swirl of emotions at this and he takes a deep breath as he tries to remember why he really came here.

"Well Miss Starling," Harry begins, clearing his throat as he holds his hand out. "Let us go to our little paradise and escape for a few hours." Accalia smiles slightly at the double meaning in his words and decides that she'll allow whatever may transpire to happen. She knows deep down that it's inevitable, her lying with Harry again, especially with her developing feelings for him.

She knows that they really began to form when they had gone swimming together for the first time. Harry's been so kind and patient with her and it's been almost impossible for her to not care for him. She's scared that her affections are misguided, that they could be a mistake that costs her later on, but as of right now, she's willing to risk it. She wants to know what it's like to be with someone she actually cares for. She's never had the chance; her own son didn't come out of love. It came out of want and lust on his side, not hers.

Accalia never wanted to give birth at fourteen years old, nor did she want to have to mature so quickly. She didn't want to have her son grow up, thinking that she was his aunt. It's hurt her more than she could ever have known to have him call her 'Aunt Lia' instead of 'mum'. She's had to keep her son secret; she wasn't allowed outside her home during the time that she was pregnant, and what made it worse was the fact that the stress she experienced likely caused Miles' premature birth. He was born months before he was supposed to, and because of that, he got sick a lot.

"Please don't let me drown," Accalia says once the two reach their little paradise. She turns her back to Harry, who immediately begins to untie her dress. The fabric falls off her and she pulls off her smock.

"I would never, Darling," Harry says quietly, watching as she turns to him and begins to undo the buttons of his shirt. He bites his bottom lip as she takes his shirt off, and nearly closes his eyes as she pushes his trousers down. He knows that the mood between the two of them has shifted significantly. Harry, while he still has the undeniable urge to have sex with Accalia again, wants to hold her and protect her from any harm, a stark difference of what he used to want.

He doesn't want her to be sad because he hates it when she's anything other than the girl who left him after they laid together for the first time. He was surprised by her confidence and maturity, and he almost didn't like it, but now, it's something that he absolutely adores. He wishes that he could somehow make things right with her son, but he does not know any cures for consumption.

"Come on, Harlequin," Accalia says quietly as she grabs his hand and pulls him towards the water. Harry wants her to actually say his name, but he's come to realise that she has a reason for doing so. It's because Accalia doesn't trust him yet; saying his name has a sense of intimacy for her that she doesn't yet feel and he can only hope that she will one day.

"You are absolutely breathtaking today, Miss Starling," Harry says as their feet touch the water. Even though Accalia disagrees, she can't help but feel flattered by his compliment. They slowly walk deeper and stop when they're waist deep. Accalia shivers at the cool water and instinctively steps closer to Harry, silently welcoming his warm embrace as he wraps his arms around her waist.

"Harlequin, what are you doing?" Accalia asks, smiling slightly as she feels Harry's lips on her neck.

"M'just showing my growing affections for you, Darling," he murmurs. He feels her body shudder slightly as he leaves small, open mouthed kisses along her skin. "Would you like me to stop?" he asks as he boldly moves one of his hands off her waist and up her side. His fingers brush against the bottom of her breast and she lets out a quiet groan.

"No, but I wish to swim before we do anything," she says, slowly pushing Harry away from her. Part of her is screaming to just let him have his way with her, but she genuinely enjoys learning to swim, so do that she will.

"You're killing me," Harry groans as he watches her move out deeper. Her hair floats on the surface of the water and when she turns to look back at him, he knows immediately that he's a goner. Accalia is a much more complex woman than he could have ever imagined. He had first thought that she was a naive girl that had no idea what it would be like to have a man go after her. He didn't think that she'd ever experienced hardship, something he assumed because of who her parents are.

The Starling family has always gotten what they want, and they're not afraid of hurting people along the way. Harry's experienced their cruelty first hand; he knows how ruthless they can be, and it wasn't until he met Accalia that he realized that his hatred of the family is only aimed towards her parents. Julian and Constance Starling are the two people he hates the most in the world, and he thought that he should hate Accalia, but he can't. A sudden splash of cold water on his face pulls him from his thoughts and he sees that Accalia is smiling mischievously.

"Come swim with me, Harlequin," she calls out.

"Darling, I hope you know that I don't take kindly to people splashing me," Harry grins as he begins to wade over to her.

"Seems like you'll have to exact your revenge on me," she smirks. Even though her words are teasing, he feels a stab of guilt. Revenge is the reason why he even came to the Starling's home. "Come and get me," she challenges. Harry takes a deep breath before forcing a smile. He moves forward to try and grab her, but she quickly moves out of the way.

"Accalia," he huffs as he tries again.

"I'm not going to make this easy for you, Harlequin," she comments.

"What if I don't want to catch you?" Harry asks as he folds his arms across his chest.

"Then you won't get to have your way with me," she says, smiling innocently at him. He narrows his eyes at her before taking a small step towards her. "It seems as if I've gotten your attention now," she muses.

"Oh come on," Harry hisses in annoyance as she's able to move out of his grasp again. He was able to grab her arm, but she had slipped away before he could do anything else. He only hears Accalia let out a quiet laugh, and he finds some comfort in the fact that she's doing this instead of worrying about Miles.

"You ready to give up yet?" Accalia asks teasingly as Harry misses her yet again.

"Not at all, Accalia," he says, enjoying this little game. He takes several small steps towards her. "I'm enjoying myself," he adds, chuckling as he sees that he's close enough to grab her now.

"So am I," she admits. She's well aware of how close Harry is to her now and she doesn't bother moving away as he suddenly reaches out and grabs her.

"You let me win, Darling," Harry says as he places his hands on her hips. "And I'm not even upset about it," he chuckles.

"I don't think you were trying very hard to catch me, Harlequin," Accalia says, smiling as she feels his hands go to her lower back. She wraps her arms around the back of his neck as he carefully picks her up. Her legs wrap around his waist and she feels her heart beginning to race as he carries her out of the water. He carefully lays her down on the small grassy hill, and he begins to leave soft kisses along her neck. He lets out a groan as he feels her fingers tangle themselves into his hair.

"Do you want this, Accalia?" Harry asks, pulling away to look down at her. One hand goes to cup her face and he can't help but admire her beauty even more.

"What?" she asks, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. This is the first time someone has really asked for her if she wants to have sex; it's different.

"Do you truly want me to lay with you, Accalia?" he whispers. "I know that you think that I only want to be around you so I can fuck you again, and I just want to make sure that you also want this." She stares up at him and she knows that she really, truly cares about him, whether she wants to or not.

"I do, Harlequin," she whispers. "I want you." Harry doesn't waste any time as he leans down and gently kisses her; they both let out strangled moans as their lips meet.

"Fuck, I'm such a lucky man," Harry sighs happily as he kisses along her jaw. "You are so beautiful, Accalia." One of his hands grabs her breast and his lips curve up into a smile as she lets out a loud moan.

"Please, I just—" Accalia breathes, her back arching off as she feels his lips close around one of her nipples. "Oh-oh god," she cries out. She hears the snap of a twig but doesn't think much of it as she feels Harry cup her center. Her hips buck slightly as he runs his fingers through her slit, collecting the wetness.

"You are so beautiful," he repeats, resting his face in the crook of his neck as he slowly rubs his hardening cock. He kisses her again as he aligns himself with her. As he slowly pushes himself inside her, Harry finds that things have definitely changed since the last time he's done this. He doesn't want to fuck her like he did the last time. Instead, he finds that he wants to take his time and make sure that she enjoys the sex just as much as he does.

"Harry, please," Accalia groans when he doesn't move for a few moments. It takes him a few moments to realise that she's said his real name. He knows that it's because they're having sex and she's really only following the rule said, but he knows that there's something different about it now. He feels his cheeks grow warm as he shifts his hips and brings his lips back to her neck before biting down. His fingers move down to her clit and he presses down, creating more stimulation for Accalia, who cries out loudly.

"I'm going to move faster, Darling," Harry murmurs as he quickens his pace. Accalia digs her fingernails into his back as she feels herself getting closer.

"H-Harry, I-I—" Accalia begins somewhat frantically. She's cut off as he quickly kisses her. He moves his lips against hers, encouraging her to let go. He presses down on her clit again and rubs harshly, which causes her body to tremble and shake as the orgasm hits her. She knows that Harry follows after because his body collapses onto hers and he's breathing heavily.

"That was even better than the first time," Harry sighs happily as he pulls himself out of her. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asks as he lies beside her.

"You didn't care the first time we had sex," Accalia chuckles quietly.

"Well, that's because you weren't important to me," Harry admits. "You were just another woman that I felt lustful for."

"I should feel offended, but I'm not," she says, turning to her side to look at her. "I needed a release and you happily obliged."

"Looks like we were both using each other," Harry comments. "Back to my original question though—did I hurt you?"

"No, Harry," Accalia says, gazing into his eyes. "Why are you so worried about that?"

"I just...I don't want to make you feel more pain than you already have," Harry says hesitantly. "You are already going through so much, and I know you can deal with a lot, but if I can prevent you from experiencing any more, then I will."

"You don't need to protect me, Harry," she says softly as she reaches out to brush aside some of his wet hair. "I'm a strong woman, I can take care of myself."

"I know that, but I still want to shield you from all of the evils of this world. I...I am so sorry that you've had to experience pain," he says sadly.

"The pain that I've experienced has helped shape me into the person that I am," Accalia sighs. "As bad as it may sound, the things I experienced when I was younger made me into the person I am. I've had to be strong even when no one believed me, I had to be strong as I carried my baby inside me, and I have to remain strong as I watch him die."

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a/n: I've just realised that we're about halfway done with this story, which means that I've got to pick up the pace a little.

Buckle up, everybody!